Okay….sometimes Will leaves me without the ability to comment on his articles and this is one of them…..well except that these shoes are (I’m sorry Will) hideous! haha But HEY….who am I to judge…I have horrible feet when it comes to running and if these were to correct that maybe I would wear them (doubtful! haha). Poor Will’s wife….I wonder if they will end up missing one of these days?? -Julia

Big Feet haha

Notes From The Field: Five Fingers

Yes, those are my feet.

This picture shows my little tootsies snugly ensconced in my brand new Vibram Five Fingers – I saw them written up in Footwear News, and for the first time (certainly in a long time, if not ever) I experienced a “I have to have those” moment.

Note – this is not to be seen as an endorsement or any other kind of shilling for this company…they’re my competition, for crying out loud!  They have, however, provided me with one of the single greatest footwear-wearing experiences of my life, so I thought I’d share.

What are these ridiculous looking (and I don’t use that term loosely; the overall look of these things came close to earning a “you’re not leaving the house in those things” ultimatum from my wife.  I don’t get that often; the last time was when I was working for a certain European comfort shoe company and the shoes I brought home were so breathtakingly hideous that I had to choose between them or my wife.  The shoes weren’t really that comfortable, so marriage prevailed) things?  Essentially, they are a neoprene sock (complete with individual toes) with a very thin Vibram rubber bottom.  They are shoes, but they are not – you literally feel like you are barefoot (just with a little protection from rocks, sticks or other debris).

I bought them because the company said they can be used for running – I’ve been reading a lot about barefoot running, and those who do it.  Mostly, the people who do this regularly are a little, shall we say, “unique” in their life outlook so I take this subject with a grain of salt…it’s just a cool idea, to go out for my daily run without any shoes on.  I never went through with it, as I have seen some of these barefoot runners’ feet – yikes.  In fact, they don’t have feet – they have one big, bulbous callous at the bottom of each of their ankles.  Not a good look.

Their rap behind the shoes is this: modern running shoes, with their thick soles and heavy cushioning, have changed the natural gait with which the foot is designed to walk.  The foot is designed to hit the ground with the forefoot (the big, wide mushy part) first – a natural shock absorber.  The big bottoms of running shoes, however, cause a heel-first running motion that is allegedly the source of much injury.  Going barefoot allows your natural running motion to take over, lets the body work the way nature intended, and eliminates malfunctions (i.e., pain and injury).

Is any of that drivel true?  Who knows, and who cares – the shoes looked SO COOL, I had to have them.

I bought ‘em…and paid full retail, baby.  After I put them on (which took me about a half an hour – getting each toe in its own little home wasn’t easy) (although it has gotten easier with each successive wearing) I hit the road.  The first few steps were a little jarring; I am used to running heel-to-toe so I was crashing down on my heels with a brain-jarring intensity (I now know first hand just how much shock absorption running shoes provide).  My tired old brain said “hmmm…you will die if you don’t do something” so I began to adjust the way my feet were hitting the ground and gradually I began running with my forefoot hitting first.  It was weird at first, but then nature started taking over and I had to think about it less and less.  After a while, I was able to stop thinking about how to put my feet down, and could concentrate on the music coming out of my headphones (“Help>Slipknot!>Franklin’s”…if you don’t know, I can’t explain)….but just for a while, because then an amazing thing happened.

I became aware that I was running with a straighter back, more erect, and with better posture than ever.  For years, my running stance has been a cross between Bigfoot and The Hunchback of Notre Dame; now, I felt like Usain Bolt in the Olympics breaking world records.  I’m sure I still looked like Bigfoot, but probably just a little less hunched over…and that was a night-and-day improvement.  I did five and a half miles on Sunday, and afterward I felt great.

What’s really interesting is the next day, I had sore muscles…in my feet.  I suppose those muscles didn’t get worked very often, or very hard – so now, I’m going to have six-pack feet.  Chicks dig that, I believe.

Again – this is NOT an endorsement, or an encouragement for just anyone to go out and start running in these things.  I do run often  – if you’re thinking of starting, I don’t think I’d suggest you start with these…it could be a little “intense”, shall we say.  But in terms of a COOL thing to wear on your feet, it doesn’t get much better.  I’ll be buying more…and won’t my wife be pleased

Best regards,

William Weiss